EU current account balance posts $91.2B surplus in Q2

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - The European Union's current account balance posted a surplus of €82.9 billion ($97.4 billion) in the April-June period, the EU statistical office reported Monday.

According to Eurostat, the EU's current account surplus was 2.7% of the 27-member bloc's gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter of this year, while the proportion was 2.1% for the same period in 2019.

The figure was up from €72.7 billion in the second quarter in 2019 and €52.9 billion in the first quarter of 2020.

Regarding sub-categories, Eurostat said that surplus of the goods account fell to €48.9 billion in the April-June period, down from €83.5 billion in the second quarter of 2019.

"The deficit of the services account moved to surplus (€24.8 billion compared to -€5.8 billion), as did the deficit of the primary income account (€24.8 billion compared to -€10.1 billion), while the deficit of the secondary income account grew (-€15.5 billion compared to -€14.7 billion)," Eurostat said.

"The deficit of the capital account increased (-€8.6 billion compared to -€4.1 billion)," it added.

Among the major partners, the bloc recorded external current account surpluses with the UK (€35.6 billion), the US (€15.8 billion), Switzerland (€15.5 billion), Russia (€6.7 billion), Canada (€6.2 billion), Hong Kong (€4.4 billion), and Brazil (€3.5 billion).

Direct investment assets of the union rose in the second quarter by €27.6 billion, while direct investment liabilities was up by €176 billion.

"As a result, the EU was a net recipient of direct investment from rest of the world in the second quarter of 2020 by €148.3 billion," according to Eurostat.